What We Do
The Kujenga Collaborative is a 501(c)3 tax-exempt nonprofit organization invested in promoting resilience through research and design in rural and underserved contexts.
We explore and experiment with alternative modes for critical local engagement, drawing on a network of design, planning and engineering professionals. We partner with nonprofits to develop projects that increase social and physical resilience in resource-poor environments, and participate actively in the production, dissemination, and exchange of knowledge.
We are designers, builders and urbanists and writers. We believe that we - and any physical projects we facilitate - exist as nodes in a rich network of actors, places, epistemologies and histories, and that we all benefit from mutual, respectful exchange. We seek partners of all types who are motivated to collaboratively create positive change.
Kujenga Collaborative is a nonprofit organization incorporated in California.
Founders and Co-directors: Susanna Pho and Claudia Bode
Kujenga Collabroators past and present: Norma Roldan, Andres Saenz, Ivan Rhodes, Paul Mannion, Sam Kallman, Norbert Enneking, Vicky Cave, Kristina Eldrenkamp, Molly Felde, Kristen Henderson
The Kujenga Collaborative’s current partner is the Olive Branch for Children, a nonprofit located near Mbeya, Tanzania. TOBFC Director: Deborah McCracken-Nangereke
Design facilitation
The Kujenga Collaborative helps connect the Olive Branch to motivated design and construction professionals.
Skills development with the Kubuni Centre
The Kubuni Centre is the Olive Branch’s entrepreneurship initiative, which focuses on developing local community members’ creative, technical and craft skills.
Design Outreach
Through the Olive Branch for Children, the Kujenga Collaborative is developing partnerships with the villages of the Usangu Flats to engage local communities in the design of public spaces, play-spaces, small structures, or other interventions. These programs aim to use participatory design and co-production as a tool for positive community development.
Fellowships
International fellows (on a project-by-project basis) work directly with the Olive Branch for Children and local communities.